The two Sudanese pastors detained by police authorities since December last year in Khartoum were transferred to Omdurman Prison ahead of a 14 August court hearing, multiple sources told Radio Tamazuj.
Pastors Kowa Shamaal and Hassan Abdelrahim were moved from police cells to the main jail in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman on 4 August.
According to Sudanese law, an individual must either be released or presented to court 45 days after arrest. However neither event has occurred in over eight months since Kowa and Hassan’s arrest.
Sources told Radio Tamazuj that the decision to transfer the two men was taken after complaints about their safety in the police cells. Reportedly, the two detainees asked to be transferred to Omdurman Prison instead of being held in the attorney general‘s custody without charges for nearly eight months.
Rev. Shamaal, who was suffering from malaria, received treatment inside jail after religious leaders had paid medical costs. The two clergymen’s defense lawyers also complained about meals served to their clients in the prison.
Abdelrahim is a moderator, while Shamaal is the head of missions in the Sudanese Church of Christ.
Two South Sudanese preachers were also arrested and charged with capital offenses last year in Khartoum, but eventually released and returned to South Sudan after more than eight months in prison.